Q&A

Q: Which of Gordon Ramsay's many shows was his first to hit TV?

Scotland-born Gordon Ramsay's TV career began, unsurprisingly, in Britain. Thus, his first TV series was the 1999 documentary miniseries "Boiling Point," which followed him as he opened one of his hugely successful restaurants, back when he was only famous as a restaurateur and chef.

That was his first series, but his first TV stardom came in 2004 when he launched the U.K. versions of both "Hell's Kitchen" and "Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares."

On the other hand, if you're referring specifically to North American TV (and you probably are), his stardom began with the U.S. version of "Hell's Kitchen" that debuted on Fox in 2005. His U.S. rendition of "Kitchen Nightmares" came two years later.

And the shows kept coming after that. In the U.S. he launched "MasterChef" in 2010, and "Hotel Hell" in 2012.

But here's one extra mind-bending fact for you: his very first TV appearance was actually a one-off in 1996 on the British cooking competition "MasterChef," but it was only as a guest judge on another host's version of the show. That show premiered on U.K. TV 20 years before Ramsay brought it to the U.S.

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